£1bn parking fines....
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http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/3873759.stm
Parking fines reach record high
Parking fines and charges in England are totalling almost £1bn a year, according to figures from the Department of Transport.
The total has increased 50% since 1997 said the figures, released in response to a written question for Transport Secretary Alistair Darling.
The responsibility for parking schemes and fixed penalty notices passed from police to councils in 1984.
Almost half the national total of £966m is paid by London drivers.
After allowing for costs, councils made a profit of £380m and some boroughs in the capital have tripled their profits in seven years.
PARKING REVENUE
1997 - £638m
2000 - £782m
2004 - £966m
SOURCE: Dept of Transport
The 12 inner London boroughs collected £294m last year, compared with £190m in 1997.
Across England, £966m was raised - a 51% increase on the £638m collected in 1997.
In 1991 local authorities were given the option to enforce parking, making parking offences a civil rather than a criminal matter.
All 33 London boroughs took over parking enforcement powers followed by the majority of local authorities outside the capital.
By 1997 councils had made a profit of £223m, raising £638m against expenditure of £415m.
The profit margin has risen to 71% over the past seven years.
A spokesperson for RAC Motoring Services, Rebecca Bell, said: "You would have to be pretty lucky not to be hit with fines if you live in an urban area.
"There are simply not have enough viable parking options."
She estimated that if a driver got a parking ticket every month the cost of driving could go up to about £500 a year.
"So many stories have appeared in the media about the incentives given to parking attendants to be as 'efficient' as possible that people are bound to be cynical.
"Many motorists think parking enforcement is about making money rather than improving road safety by stopping people from parking illegally."
She added: "Now that parking attendants are being given greater powers to enforce traffic laws, traffic wardens are becoming an endangered species."
The figures were revealed in response to a parliamentary question put by John Thurso MP, Liberal Democrat shadow transport secretary.
He said: "Increasing parking charges simply punishes motorists without achieving any impact on reducing congestion."
Parking fines reach record high
Parking fines and charges in England are totalling almost £1bn a year, according to figures from the Department of Transport.
The total has increased 50% since 1997 said the figures, released in response to a written question for Transport Secretary Alistair Darling.
The responsibility for parking schemes and fixed penalty notices passed from police to councils in 1984.
Almost half the national total of £966m is paid by London drivers.
After allowing for costs, councils made a profit of £380m and some boroughs in the capital have tripled their profits in seven years.
PARKING REVENUE
1997 - £638m
2000 - £782m
2004 - £966m
SOURCE: Dept of Transport
The 12 inner London boroughs collected £294m last year, compared with £190m in 1997.
Across England, £966m was raised - a 51% increase on the £638m collected in 1997.
In 1991 local authorities were given the option to enforce parking, making parking offences a civil rather than a criminal matter.
All 33 London boroughs took over parking enforcement powers followed by the majority of local authorities outside the capital.
By 1997 councils had made a profit of £223m, raising £638m against expenditure of £415m.
The profit margin has risen to 71% over the past seven years.
A spokesperson for RAC Motoring Services, Rebecca Bell, said: "You would have to be pretty lucky not to be hit with fines if you live in an urban area.
"There are simply not have enough viable parking options."
She estimated that if a driver got a parking ticket every month the cost of driving could go up to about £500 a year.
"So many stories have appeared in the media about the incentives given to parking attendants to be as 'efficient' as possible that people are bound to be cynical.
"Many motorists think parking enforcement is about making money rather than improving road safety by stopping people from parking illegally."
She added: "Now that parking attendants are being given greater powers to enforce traffic laws, traffic wardens are becoming an endangered species."
The figures were revealed in response to a parliamentary question put by John Thurso MP, Liberal Democrat shadow transport secretary.
He said: "Increasing parking charges simply punishes motorists without achieving any impact on reducing congestion."
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